The present invention relates to a construction technique of a seat belt apparatus mounted on a vehicle.
A known seat belt apparatus has a structure in which a vehicle passenger is protected by a seat belt (a webbing) for constraining the vehicle passenger. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2004-148916 (incorporated by reference herein) discloses a seat belt apparatus having a structure in which a guiding means for a seat belt is provided at an upper position of a B-pillar (a center pillar) of a vehicle. The guiding means has a structure in which a portion in which the seat belt withdrawn from a retractor (a webbing retracting apparatus) upwards along the center pillar is deflected at the upper position of the center pillar. That is, a portion of the seat belt in the vicinity of the shoulder or the head of the passenger is arranged so as to be detachably movable to or from the vehicle passenger sitting in a seat.
The technique stated in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2004-148916 presents a feasible way of allowing the vehicle passenger to smoothly get in or out a vehicle by arranging the seat belt so as to be detachably movable to or from the vehicle passenger sitting in the seat, where the structure in which a structural body, such as the guiding means disposed at the upper position of the center pillar, is driven to allow a portion of the seat belt in the vicinity of the shoulder or the head of the passenger to be detachably movable. However, this technique is limited in how it allows a vehicle passenger to smoothly get in or out of the vehicle and is disadvantaged in achieving a constraint of the passenger when the seat belt is worn. Moreover, the technique does not improve design features in the vehicle compartment.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems and has an object to provide an effective technique of a seat belt apparatus mounted on a vehicle, for allowing a vehicle passenger to smoothly get in or out of a vehicle.